US11213158B2ActiveUtilityPatentIndex 67
Cooking system
Est. expiryAug 29, 2038(~12.1 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
A47J 27/10A23L 5/10A47J 36/321A47J 36/2405A47J 27/18A23V 2002/00A23L 5/13A47J 27/04A47J 27/16A47J 36/32A47J 36/24A47J 37/0623A47J 37/08
67
PatentIndex Score
2
Cited by
116
References
20
Claims
Abstract
Predictive cooking systems and methods. A representative system can include a cooking device submergible in a container of fluid and a memory device storing instructions for causing a processor to receive information and determine heater set point temperature and on time. The processor can receive information indicative of one or more characteristics of a food item to be cooked in the fluid and a desired food temperature. The processor can perform a control process that can include sending instructions for controlling a heater, obtaining a temperature measurement of the fluid from a temperature sensor, determining a measurement of power delivered to the heater, determining constants related to corresponding physical characteristics of the fluid and/or the container based on at least one of the temperature measurement and the measurement of power, and determining a food temperature of the food item.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedWhat is claimed is:
1. A cooking system, comprising:
a cooking device at least partially submergible in a container of fluid, the cooking device including a heater and a temperature sensor;
a computing device including at least one processor and at least one memory device coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one memory device stores instructions, wherein the at least one processor is configured, by execution of the instructions, to:
receive information indicative of one or more characteristics of a food item to be cooked in the fluid;
receive a desired food temperature; perform a control process, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
send instructions for controlling the heater, including information related to a heater set point temperature and a heater power on time;
obtain a temperature measurement of the fluid from the temperature sensor;
determine power delivered to the heater;
determine one or more physical characteristic values including one or more corresponding physical characteristics of at least one of the fluid and the container by solving a physical model based on changes in the temperature measurement of the fluid and the power delivered to the fluid via the heater;
predict a food temperature profile of the food item for multiple temperature set points using the one or more physical characteristics values and by projecting each temperature set point of the multiple temperature set points forward in time by solving the physical model;
generate, using the food temperature profile of the food item as predicted for the multiple temperature set points, a plurality of cooking programs that heat a core of the food item to the desired food temperature while not exceeding an acceptable temperature gradient constraint, wherein each cooking program has an associated cooking time to reach the desired food temperature;
search the plurality of cooking programs to determine a particular cooking program which has the shortest cooking time; and
update the heater set point temperature and the heater power on time, using the particular cooking program; and
repeat the control process one or more times using the heater set point temperature as updated and the heater power on time as updated until the food temperature equals the desired food temperature.
2. The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the heater set point temperature as updated and the heater on time as updated are determined, based on a prediction of the temperature of the fluid projected over time for one of the set point temperatures of the multiple set point temperatures projected over time so that the cooking system brings the food item to the desired food temperature in the period of time to cook the food item or to complete cooking of the food item without exceeding the acceptable temperature gradient constraint across the food item and that results in the fluid cooling to the desired food temperature at the same time the food item reaches the desired food temperature.
3. The cooking system of claim 2 , further comprising wirelessly receiving information including the acceptable temperature gradient constraint across the food item via a user device, and wherein the user device is a mobile phone or tablet.
4. The cooking system of claim 3 , further comprising providing feedback to the user device including the acceptable temperature gradient constraint.
5. The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising estimating at least one of a container type and a container size based on the one or more physical characteristic values, wherein the one or more physical characteristic values include at least one of a fluid volume value (c 1 ), a container thermal conductivity value (c 2 ), or an evaporative loss value (c 4 ).
6. The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising receiving at least one of a container type and a container size.
7. The cooking system of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of a container type and a container size is received based on a name, number, or bar code positioned on the container.
8. The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising detecting when the food item is placed in the container based on a change in the temperature measurement and a change in the power delivered to the heater.
9. The cooking system of claim 8 , further comprising identifying if the food item is placed in the container before the fluid reaches the heater set point temperature and adjusting the heater set point temperature in response.
10. The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining the desired food temperature for a pasteurization time period selected based on the desired food temperature and the information indicative of one or more characteristics of the food item.
11. The cooking system of claim 1 , wherein the cooking device includes a pressure sensor.
12. The cooking system of claim 1 , further comprising receiving geographic location information from a user device and estimating atmospheric pressure based on an altitude of the geographic location.
13. The cooking system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to turn off the heater to allow the fluid to cool until the fluid temperature falls to the desired food temperature.
14. A cooking system, comprising:
a cooking device, the cooking device including a heater and a temperature or pressure sensor; and
a computing device including at least one processor and at least one memory device coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one memory device stores instructions, wherein the at least one processor is configured, by execution of the instructions, to:
receive information indicative of one or more characteristics of a food item to be cooked;
receive a desired food temperature;
perform a control process, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
send instructions for controlling the heater, including a heater set point temperature, a heater on time, or both a heater set point temperature and a heater on time;
obtain, from the sensor, a temperature measurement (T) indicative of cooking of the food item;
determine power (P) delivered to the heater;
determine at least a fluid volume value (c i ), a container thermal conductivity value (c 2 ), or an evaporative loss value (c 4 ), by fitting a predetermined physical model to at least the temperature measurement (T) and the power (P) delivered to the heater;
predict a food temperature profile of the food item for multiple temperature set points using the fluid volume value (c i ), the container thermal conductivity value (c 2 ) or an evaporative loss value (c 4 ), and by projecting each temperature set point of the multiple temperature set points forward in time by solving a physical model;
generate, using the food temperature profile of the food item as predicted for the multiple temperature set points, a plurality of cooking programs that heat a core of the food item to the desired food temperature while not exceeding an acceptable temperature gradient constraint, wherein each cooking program has an associated cooking time to reach the desired food temperature;
search the plurality of cooking programs to determine a particular cooking program which has the shortest cooking time; and
update the heater set point temperature and the heater power on time, using the particular cooking program; and
repeat the control process one or more times using the heater set point temperature as updated and the heater power on time as updated until the food temperature equals the desired food temperature.
15. The cooking system of claim 14 , wherein the cooking device is at least partially submergible in a container of fluid, wherein the heater set point temperature as updated and the heater on time as updated are determined based on a prediction of the temperature of the fluid projected over time for one of the set point temperatures of the multiple set point temperatures projected over time so that the cooking system brings the food item to the desired food temperature in the period of time to cook the food item or to complete cooking of the food item without exceeding the acceptable temperature gradient constraint across the food item and that results in the fluid cooling to the desired food temperature at the same time the food item reaches the desired food temperature.
16. The cooking system of claim 14 , wherein the cooking device is at least partially submergible in a container of fluid, and wherein the physical model is stored in the at least one memory device and used by the at least one processor for determining at least the fluid volume value (c 1 ), the container thermal conductivity value (c 2 ), or the evaporative loss value (c 4 ), wherein the physical model is:
dT
dt
=
c
1
(
P
-
F
)
-
c
2
T
+
c
3
-
c
4
H
(
T
)
,
where (F) is energy going into the food, (c 3 ) is an offset dependent on air temperature and dew point, and (H) is the specific humidity at the fluid surface.
17. The cooking system of claim 16 , wherein the physical model is solved using one of a least squares method or a Kalman filter method.
18. The cooking system of claim 14 , wherein the food temperature (τ) is determined by the at least one processor using an equation stored in the at least one memory device, wherein the equation is defined as:
∂
τ
∂
t
=
α
(
∂
2
τ
∂
r
2
+
β
r
∂
τ
∂
r
)
,
τ
(
r
,
t
0
)
=
τ
0
,
∂
τ
∂
r
(
0
,
t
)
=
0
,
∂
τ
∂
r
(
R
,
t
)
=
h
k
[
T
(
t
)
-
τ
(
R
,
t
)
]
,
where τ(0≤r≤R, t≥t 0 ) is the food temperature, t 0 is when the food is added, α=k/(ρcp) is thermal diffusivity, k is thermal conductivity, ρ is density, cp is specific heat, 2R is the characteristic thickness, 0≤β≤2 is the characteristic shape, h is surface heat transfer coefficient, and τ 0 is the initial food temperature.
19. The cooking system of claim 14 , wherein the heater set point temperature is greater than the desired food temperature, and wherein the cooking device is at least partially submergible in a container of fluid.
20. The cooking system according to claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to turn off the heater to allow the fluid to cool until the fluid temperature falls to the desired food temperature.Cited by (0)
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